ronrob
September 20th, 2002, 10:26 AM
Canadian Press
Thursday, September 19, 2002
TORONTO (CP) - Federal authorities should enforce the Supreme Court ruling that declared grey and black market home satellite TV illegal because cable and dish providers "can't compete with free," says Janet Yale, president of the Canadian Cable Television Association.
Yale is also chair of the Canadian Television Fund, which provides subsidies for Canadian programming content and which is dependent on a percentage of domestic carrier subscriber fees.
At a luncheon of broadcast executives Thursday, Yale said the high court had been "pretty categorical on the law" concerning theft of encrypted signals and it's been frustrating not to see the RCMP act.
She said if the government really believes in the law of the land then it should stand by it.
"Because if it doesn't want to uphold its policy then it should get out of our way," Yale said.
Asked if this means Canadian carriers should be allowed to directly carry such envied U.S. premium services as HBO and Showtime, Yale said it was premature to speculate.
"We're not ready to go there yet."
Yale estimated there are some 700,000 illegal satellite dishes in Canada, representing about five per cent of the market and hundreds of millions of dollars lost to the Canadian broadcasting system and the economy as a whole. She said the fund itself - already seriously oversubscribed - loses between $4 million and 7.5 million annually.
Yale said there are probably many reasons why the government is reluctant to act: national security is a greater priority, threats of complex Charter arguments, the lack of clarity at the CRTC about its role and politicians reluctant to go against public opinion.
"But these reasons ignore some basic issues: it's not about choice, it's about theft, it's illegal, and it's undermining a market structure we are expected to support and contribute to."
Meanwhile, she said, with no apparent plans for an RCMP blitz on black-market dealers, the industry itself is preparing for litigation as well as public service announcements to air this fall.
Earlier this week, Bell ExpressVu, the home satellite service division of BCE, Inc., said it's proceeding with plans for a broad lawsuit against companies that continue to sell equipment that pulls in unlicensed American satellite signals like DireCTV.
Last April, the high court ruled that it was illegal to sell decoding equipment that permits such access in Canada, although some of the equipment providers have been trying to fight the ruling by seeking injunctions against enforcement.
While the Canadian industry argues in favour of protection of intellectual property, advocates of a so-called open skies policy raise comparisons to the Cold War when the Russians jammed the signal of Radio Free Europe from behind the Iron Curtain.
"Basically, you're looking at a fascist country that's pretending to be a democracy," said Jan Pachul, who operates Star Ray TV, an unlicensed UHF channel in the city's east end.
© Copyright 2002 The Canadian Press
Thursday, September 19, 2002
TORONTO (CP) - Federal authorities should enforce the Supreme Court ruling that declared grey and black market home satellite TV illegal because cable and dish providers "can't compete with free," says Janet Yale, president of the Canadian Cable Television Association.
Yale is also chair of the Canadian Television Fund, which provides subsidies for Canadian programming content and which is dependent on a percentage of domestic carrier subscriber fees.
At a luncheon of broadcast executives Thursday, Yale said the high court had been "pretty categorical on the law" concerning theft of encrypted signals and it's been frustrating not to see the RCMP act.
She said if the government really believes in the law of the land then it should stand by it.
"Because if it doesn't want to uphold its policy then it should get out of our way," Yale said.
Asked if this means Canadian carriers should be allowed to directly carry such envied U.S. premium services as HBO and Showtime, Yale said it was premature to speculate.
"We're not ready to go there yet."
Yale estimated there are some 700,000 illegal satellite dishes in Canada, representing about five per cent of the market and hundreds of millions of dollars lost to the Canadian broadcasting system and the economy as a whole. She said the fund itself - already seriously oversubscribed - loses between $4 million and 7.5 million annually.
Yale said there are probably many reasons why the government is reluctant to act: national security is a greater priority, threats of complex Charter arguments, the lack of clarity at the CRTC about its role and politicians reluctant to go against public opinion.
"But these reasons ignore some basic issues: it's not about choice, it's about theft, it's illegal, and it's undermining a market structure we are expected to support and contribute to."
Meanwhile, she said, with no apparent plans for an RCMP blitz on black-market dealers, the industry itself is preparing for litigation as well as public service announcements to air this fall.
Earlier this week, Bell ExpressVu, the home satellite service division of BCE, Inc., said it's proceeding with plans for a broad lawsuit against companies that continue to sell equipment that pulls in unlicensed American satellite signals like DireCTV.
Last April, the high court ruled that it was illegal to sell decoding equipment that permits such access in Canada, although some of the equipment providers have been trying to fight the ruling by seeking injunctions against enforcement.
While the Canadian industry argues in favour of protection of intellectual property, advocates of a so-called open skies policy raise comparisons to the Cold War when the Russians jammed the signal of Radio Free Europe from behind the Iron Curtain.
"Basically, you're looking at a fascist country that's pretending to be a democracy," said Jan Pachul, who operates Star Ray TV, an unlicensed UHF channel in the city's east end.
© Copyright 2002 The Canadian Press